4. Cruz vs. Bowles

Cruz may have won the WEC championship because Brian Bowles broke his hand, but he still owned Bowles.

The fight lasted but a round, and in that round, Bowles couldn't touch Cruz. Cruz's elusiveness and evasiveness allowed him to keep away from Bowles' dangerous right hand.

Cruz then did what he always does, and that's use his movement to frustrate his opponent. After breaking his hand in the first round, Bowles was unable to continue, and the doctor stopped the fight, thus making Cruz the new champ.

3. Cruz vs. Johnson

Any time you get Cruz and Demetrious Johnson scrapping in the Octagon, you can expect to see one thing: speed.

Cruz and Johnson were flying around the ring with their fast strikes, and the fight saw Cruz dominate the grappling exchanges.

The highlight of this fight saw Cruz taking Johnson over his head and slamming him to the mat via suplex. It was another slick performance by the champion, and he proved that his kryptonite wasn't speed.

1. Cruz vs. Faber II

Very rarely do grudge matches end up living up to the hype, but the second battle between Cruz and Urijah Faber at UFC 132 was fantastic.

Cruz had to battle adversity, as he was dropped a few times by Faber's right hand, but he willed himself back into the fight. From there, he used his movement to frustrate Faber and landed some brilliant combinations.

It was a close fight, as both fighters seemed to be evenly matched, which is another reason to get excited for UFC 148 when they settle their grudge once and for all.

5. Aldo vs. Swanson

Jose Aldo came on the scene in the WEC as if he was shot out of a cannon.

Aldo was finishing fights left and right, and he put a stamp on the featherweight division in a No. 1 contender's bout against the always dangerous Cub Swanson.

The fight lasted only eight seconds, but it was one of the more beautiful knockouts you'll see in the sport. Because of that, it deserves recognition in Aldo's greatest fights.

Right after Swanson and Aldo touched gloves, Aldo launched himself into the air and delivered a perfectly placed flying knee. This would earn Aldo his first title shot in the WEC, and he hasn't looked back since.

3. Aldo vs. Faber

As a rabid fan of MMA, there are very seldom fights that make me want to turn my head and look the other way. This was one of those fights.

After Aldo decimated the featherweight division, he would face his toughest test to date in Faber. But not even Faber couldn't slow this buzzsaw down.

Aldo connected time and time again with nasty leg kicks that put a grimace on the faces in the crowd. To put it simply, it was brutal, and Aldo used those vicious leg kicks to dominate the former featherweight champion.

2. Aldo vs. Mendes

One of my favorite sights in the history of the WEC was Aldo running into the crowd after knocking out Rolando Perez, but an even better sight was watching him do it in Brazil after defeating Chad Mendes.

As for the fight, Mendes' objective was to get this fight to the ground, and he failed to do so. This would ultimately cost him his shot at the championship, as Aldo pulled off another sensational knockout victory.

After Mendes had Aldo's back, he loosened Mendes' grip, turned toward him and gave him a devastating knee to the face. It was all she wrote for Mendes.

1. Aldo vs. Hominick

Aldo found this out first hand when he fought Hominick at UFC 129. Aldo dominated the fight for four straight rounds, and he dropped Hominick on multiple occasions. Hominick suffered a massive hematoma because of some devastating ground-and-pound, and he looked to be out of the fight.

But once the last round commenced, Hominick rallied and was delivering some of his own ground and pound on the champion. Aldo survived and was able to reclaim his championship.

5. Henderson vs. Varner

After winning the interim championship against Donald Cerrone in what was a fight to be remembered, Henderson fought to unify the WEC lightweight belts against Jamie Varner.

What ensued was a back-and-forth fight between two great competitors. Henderson finished the fight in the second round when Varner left his neck in sight, and Henderson used his great jiu-jitsu skills to pull off a beautiful standing guillotine submission.

4. Henderson vs. Guida

To this day, I'm still upset at the UFC for not putting this fight on Fox.

The fight between Henderson and Clay Guida aired on Facebook prior to the Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez fight that took place on the UFC's inaugural FOX event.

Guida and Henderson showed what Velasquez and dos Santos were unable able to show, and that's the full game of MMA. This fight had everything from brawling to wrestling to cage work, and it was a magnificent fight.

2. Henderson vs. Cerrone

When you look back at all of the great fights that took place in the WEC, many stand out, but Henderson's fight with Cerrone is truly one of the best.

Both fighters went through a war of attrition, and this was the fight that showcased Henderson's inability to be submitted. Cerrone put Henderson in multiple submissions, and it was as if Henderson was made of rubber.

The harder he cranked and torqued, the more Henderson bent, which earned him the nickname "Bendo." It was absolutely mind-blowing that Henderson was able to withstand so many submission attempts, and he pressed on to earn a decision victory.

1. Henderson vs. Pettis

When people ask me what's the coolest thing I've ever seen in sports, I generally answer with the "Showtime Kick."

In the last round of what was a fantastic title fight between Henderson and Anthony Pettis, Pettis pulled off the unthinkable. As Stephan Bonnar put it, "he ran off the wall like a ninja," and he connected with one of the sickest kicks in MMA history.

It earned him the decision victory against Henderson, and it's a fight that will always have a special place in MMA lore. It was the last fight in WEC history, and with all of the great fights that WEC provided for years, I believe the company saved its best performance for last.

4. Condit vs. Kampmann

Condit was screwed by the judges when he received a loss to Martin Kampmann.

This was a fight that was Condit's for the taking, but the judges saw it differently.

Both men exchanged punches and fought each other with everything they had. It was a fantastic fight, and though I believe Condit should have received the decision, I'll admit the fight could have gone either way.

1. Condit vs. MacDonald

Rory MacDonald took it to Condit for the first two rounds and was on his way to winning a decision victory. But that was before Greg Jackson brought out the "Natural-Born Killer" in Condit before the third round.

Jackson hollered at Condit in such a way that I've never heard Jackson do to any other fighter before, and it brought out the best in him. Condit then marched his way to middle of the Octagon and put it to MacDonald.

He pressured him with his relentless style, and he was able to finish MacDonald with brutal ground and pound with just seconds left in the fight.

1. GSP vs. Fitch

Who would have ever though that Jon Fitch and GSP could put on such an entertaining fight?

Both fighters are criticized for their styles not being exciting, but the fight they had at UFC 87 was far from boring.

St-Pierre dominated the fight and dropped Fitch time and time again. But it was Fitch's heart that made the fight so intriguing. He refused to give up, and he battled with GSP until the last horn sounded.

4. Silva vs. Griffin

Of all of Silva's mind-numbing performances, his destruction of Forrest Griffin was something I thought I'd never see.

Granted, Griffin isn't the best fighter in the world, but at that time, he was considered to be one of the best fighters at light heavyweight. That was, until he stepped into the Octagon with Silva.

Just like he swooped in straight out of the Matrix, Silva dodged Griffin's strikes and countered them with perfectly placed punches that sent Griffin to the mat. If you would have seen it in a movie, you would have said, "this is ridiculous; that would never happen in real life."

3. Silva vs. Belfort

The fights showcased so far have all been dominant performances, but the sheer awesomeness of these knockouts are legendary.

In the fight between Silva and Belfort at UFC 126, Silva pulled off the first front kick knockout in UFC history, and it turned the MMA world upside down on its head. I don't know what was cooler, the knockout or the staredown by both fighters at the weigh ins.

2. Silva vs. Henderson

Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images

Silva's fight against Dan Henderson was the first time fans saw Silva tested inside the Octagon.

Henderson was able to win the first round against Silva, as he was able to put Silva on his back and work his top game for the majority of the round. However, the second round told a completely different story.

Silva was able to connect with some vicious punches and kicks, and he would eventually sink in a rear-naked choke for the victory.

1. Silva vs. Sonnen

One of the greatest championship fights in UFC history took place when Chael Sonnen dominated Anderson Silva for four-and-a-half rounds.

After talking so much trash, Sonnen went in against Silva and backed up every word he said by dropping Silva with punches and pounding Silva's face into the mat.

Silva showed the true heart of a champion when he pulled off a last-minute triangle choke to tap Sonnen out and reclaim his belt. I would go as far as to say it was perhaps the most exciting moment in the young sport's history.

5. Jones vs. Rampage

Though Silva is the greatest fight in MMA history, when it's all said and done, Jon Jones might very well hold that claim.

Jones is a gifted athlete that has passed every challenge thrown his way, and at the age of 24, he's already about to clean out the light heavyweight division.

In his fight against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, he taught the veteran exactly why he's the next big thing. Jones picked Jackson apart on his feet and thoroughly dominated Jackson. Heck, he even pulled guard at one point.

Jones became the first man to finish Rampage inside the Octagon, and the sky is truly the limit for this guy.

4. Jones vs. Shogun

Have you ever seen anyone destroy Mauricio "Shogun" Rua the way Jones did at UFC 128?

The answer to that rhetorical question is no. Jones put an incredible beating on Rua with punches, kicks, flying knees and punches.

Rua was beaten so badly that right after Herb Dean jumped in to save him, you could see him tap the canvas. That's a sight I never though I would see, and that speaks to the pure brutality that Jones inflicts on his opponents.

5. JDS vs. Velasquez

Because of this, he really doesn't have a lot of great fights, but what he does have is a lot of sensational one-punch knockouts.

One of those knockout highlights came during the UFC's first live broadcast on FOX, where he faced champion Cain Velasquez. Dos Santos landed an overhand right to Velasquez's temple, and it was far too much for Velasquez to recover from.

1. JDS vs. Nelson

This fight looked to be just like all other dos Santos fights, when JDS dropped Nelson in the first round and lit Nelson up against the cage with one devastating shot after another.

But you can never discredit Nelson's heart, as he proved to be too tough for dos Santos to finish and continued to push forward. Dos Santos would end up defeating Nelson, but Nelson's courage and warrior spirit should be admired.